Police officer found dead in Carnoustie's Barry Burn

Police officer found dead in Carnoustie's Barry Burn

A Scottish police officer was found dead in Barry Burn near Carnoustie Golf Links on Sunday, with tributes pouring in for the officer but no explanation as of yet as to how the man ended up in the water.

PC Dean Morrison, 40, of Police Scotland’s Tayside Division, was found around 12:40 p.m. local time near the famed golf course, according to multiple reports including from the BBC and the Daily Telegraph. Morrison had been an officer for 16 years.

Police are searching for a taxi driver who may have dropped off Morrison near the hotel the night before, but officials said there appear to be no suspicious circumstances. It took three hours for officials to recover Morrison’s body from the burn near the beach.

“Dean was a highly respected officer, who was extremely well liked and popular with his colleagues. He was thoroughly professional in his work,” said Chief Superintendent Andrew Todd, Divisional Commander for Tayside Division, as reported by multiple news outlets. “His death is a great tragedy and he will be sadly missed by all who knew him and we will do all we can to support them during this distressing time.”

The small river empties onto the beach after winding through Carnoustie Golf Links, site of eight British Opens including Francesco Molinari’s 2018 victory. The burn played prominently in Jean van de Velde’s epic meltdown in 1999, as van de Velde waded into the water to consider playing a shot on his way to making a triple-bogey 7 that forced a playoff, won by Paul Lawrie.